News

A Visit Back to our Favorite Stories - Part 1 January through June

Highlighted below are some of the stand-out stories from our community each month of 2025, selected by the TPD staff. These pieces — chosen from a year rich with local achievements, service, and heartfelt farewells — showcase leaders, neighbors, and organizations that shaped the first half of 2025...

Churches Unite to Illuminate the Road to Bethlehem in Cresco

CRESCO — What began as a single, meaningful woodworking project more than five years ago has grown into a powerful symbol of faith, craftsmanship, and unity among Cresco’s churches. Immanuel Lutheran Church’s woodworking ministry, Hands of the Master, has completed a stunning community...

Christmas in Ink and Memory

HOWARD COUNTY - Long before downtown Cresco glowed with strings of lights or holiday music drifted from car radios, Christmas in Howard County lived in quieter ways — candle flames trembling in church pews, boots crunching over frozen paths, children’s voices rising in one-room schoolhouses, and...

When One Door Closes, Another Opens

CRESCO - Howard County’s longtime community institution, The County Store, will be dissolved on December 31, 2025, and its remaining funds will be distributed to a broad array of local charities. The former storefront has already changed hands and has opened under new ownership as the Midwest...

Chili Cookoff Heats Up

Sweeney’s turned up the heat on Sunday, December 14, 2025, by hosting its first annual chili cook-off from 12 to 2 p.m., drawing a crowd eager to sample and vote on six unique chili entries. The event brought friends and chili lovers together for an afternoon of good food and friendly competition...

Plantpeddler Poinsettia Variety Day 2025 Results

On a frigid December day the Poinsettia industry descended upon Cresco, Iowa, for Poinsettia Variety Day. With double digit negative temperatures outside, guests found the greenhouses warm, inviting, and colorful. For the commercial Poinsettia industry this trial has become a must-attend event....

Santa's Gone Full-Size

CRESCO - If you’ve ever driven down 3rd Ave East in December and suddenly been greeted by a humongous Santa towering over a front yard full of inflatable holiday cheer, congratulations — you’ve found the Gosch house. David and Daniell Gosch are well known around town for many reasons, but in...

Award presented at 2025 Chamber/CIDC Banquet

CRESCO - It was a night of awards, plenty of laughs and loads of “gaming” fun as the Cresco Chamber and CIDC held their annual banquet last Friday night at the McAllister Heritage Center in Cresco. With the theme being “Game Show Night” you could say the game host “celebrities” came out by the...

Driftrunners take Center Stage at ISSA

AMES & CRESCO, IA – The Iowa State Snowmobile Association (ISSA) celebrated its annual awards ceremony November 14-16, 2025 in Ames, IA, recognizing outstanding contributions and achievements within the snowmobiling community. Local members from the Driftrunners Snowmobile Club took center...

A Special Holiday for Service Members

HOWARD COUNTY - Since August, American Legion Post 135 located in Cresco has been actively collecting donations to support the Iowa National Guard members deployed to the Middle East, and their efforts are making a significant impact. According to Dodd Franklin, a representative from the Legion, “...